US News
Schwarzenegger gets tough on California budget
Jan 11, 2008, 1:15 GMT
Sacramento, California - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took an austere approach to the California budget Thursday, presenting a 141-billion-dollar plan that calls for 10-per- cent state spending cuts in the richest state in the US.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he must cut aid to poor children and the elderly, shutter state parks, shrink school spending and release 22,000 inmates early to plug a 14-billion-dollar deficit.
The plan would slash expenditures by every state programme by 10 per cent for the budget year beginning July 1.
The governor, a staunch environmentalist, proposed shuttering 48 of California's state parks, nearly one in five.
'It is very difficult,' Schwarzenegger said at a press conference Thursday. 'I can see every single person hurt by these cuts. I understand how difficult it will be for these people.'
He vowed not to raise taxes, saying: 'I will not go back and ask (voters) for any tax increases. They deserve better than that.'
Schwarzenegger invoked never-before-used fiscal emergency powers to force lawmakers to pare 3 billion dollars from the current budget.
The state legislature has 45 days to deal with the shortfall. Should lawmakers fail to find a solution in that time, they would be barred from doing any other legislative work or adjourning.
Schwarzenegger was elected in a snap recall election in 2003, promising to fix the state's finances. He has so far failed to push through meaningful financial reform, even as the housing downturn and softening economy recreate the dire economic conditions that helped get him elected.
Earlier in the week, Schwarzenegger announced he would seek a voter-approved constitutional amendment to permanently cap spending and to require the state to set aside a portion of surplus revenue during flush years to stabilize the budget in lean times.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Immigrants ??I thought there were many emigrants from the USA ,have look in Iraq,that were the money is going to,courtesy of your own hovernment.You owe at least 30.000 dollars and if it is up to BUsh you'll be in Iraq for another ten years.Any idea of the cost .But it is so much more convenient to divert the problems into illegal immigrants.THey are not the main cause of your problems.Bush IS.
And for SP4 now the usual tune Hsu...Berger....Happy now ?
have missed something. I was reading about Arnold Schwarzenegger and his slashing the California fiscal budget into little tiny pieces taking poor children and the elderly first. I'm not clear on where the idiot and his phony war comes int this; which by the way is gulping down more funds than we can pump into it.
Care about saving 100.000 American lives per year at least ?
Here are some figures about the present health carte system in the USA and some of it's consequences.Dare I say your life is precious and could eventually be saved as well as some other 100.000 of your population if at least you'd dispose of a health care system that seems to exist only to fill the bank accounts of your insurance companies:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR200801070294 3.html
kudos to Arnold for dealing with a problem. Spending money you dont have will punish the economy in the long run(ie....federal budget...yeesh, thats a real ugly mess). Lets hope the politicals figure it out.
The current system of government America has failed the People, and will be replaced with a new one For the People, without religious zealots that make things wrong. The American Republic is the answer, and Judah Ben-Hur for President, 2012! Its going to happen one way or another because We Believe!
mmmm. seems that arnie is taking a look at bush's plans. Pray thats all that is left to do, unless ... we the people get smart .
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Poor childrenJan 11th, 2008 - 20:41:15
and the elderly were first on his list. Not a word about illegals losing anything.
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